Chapter Text
Ryotaro had never been good with strays. Yu was just like Yasu, in that way—those types seemed attracted to them, for better or worse (usually worse, in his sister’s case), but even those two would find this current situation to be something completely and utterly demoralizing.
Should've just thrown in the towel, at some point. That's what everyone told him though their hardly disguised insults.
Part of him didn't understand why he pushed so hard, either. Adachi had done things that went far beyond forgivable. There was no excuse he could find when confronted, either, any counter he had coming out sounding piss poor at best. Both his co-workers and the kids that had become regulars at his place clearly understood, and hardly bothered with the argument, after a point.
Except for one.
“Again?” Hanamura-kun hadn’t even needed to ask why he was requesting Teddie-kun to stay the night, this time. Not that he seemed any less annoyed at the idea, even audible through his hushed tone. If he could see past the phone screen, he wouldn’t have been surprised to be met with a nasty grimace in return. “Are you serious…?”
“I always am.” Even with his new partner hastily rustling through the paperwork beside him, he’d still caught that muffled scoff from the other line.
“Why not make some actual friends?” These kids had become so blunt… Half of him wanted to snap back in response, but he’d been getting better at managing his anger, instead replacing that wrath with a hearty chuckle.
“That gets a little harder when you’re an adult.”
“Can’t be much harder than keeping up a relationship like that…” That wasn’t wrong, exactly. Or, it wouldn’t have been, if he hadn’t “chosen sides,” from the way his co-workers seemed to frame it. The reputation he had garnered left him with a mismatched tool box that made building relationships near impossible. “Does he even see you?”
“Occasionally.” Even after the months of effort, it had only now felt like he was flipping an honest coin on if Adachi was looking to take visitors. An improvement from the guaranteed failure rate before his detention center transfer, but any rational person would’ve seen it as Hanamura-kun had.
“You’re just wasting gas money.”
“I know.” That wasn’t his true thoughts, exactly, but anything he could have come up with in return would’ve fallen flat with the boy. It was a dance they’d run through several times, at this point, and somehow the kid always ended up the moral victor. “See you and Teddie-kun tomorrow.”
“...Of course.” He didn’t miss that sigh, either, along with a light murmuring that had been intelligible, but Hanamura-kun had been quick to skip past before he could ask for the boy to repeat his hidden thoughts. “See ya, Dojima-san.”